University of Buckingham

Buckingham is the only university to hold a Royal Charter and is a non-profit charity dedicated to excellence in teaching. In March 1983, the original University College of Buckingham was established as the University of Buckingham by Royal Charter, just seven years after it opened. By 1984 student numbers had increased to 500 – the demand for places saw the ratio of applications to acceptances at 8:1.
The University of Buckingham has a vibrant international community. About 40 per cent of the students come from the United Kingdom or the European Union; the remainder hail from countries across the globe. With over 80 nationalities represented, Buckingham students form friendships and build up contacts which span the world.

Main Campus:
Hunter Street, Buckinghamshire

Locations:
Buckinghamshire, Milton Keynes

Student Population:
1,003

Faculties: School of Business, School of Humanities, School of Law, School of Sciences and Medicine

Overview

Why Choose the University of Buckingham ?

Buckingham is the only university to hold a Royal Charter and is a non-profit charity
dedicated to excellence in teaching. In March 1983, the original University College
of Buckingham was established as the University of Buckingham by Royal Charter,
just seven years after it opened. By 1984 student numbers had increased to 500 –
the demand for places saw the ratio of applications to acceptances at 8:1.

The University of Buckingham has a vibrant international community. About 40 per
cent of the students come from the United Kingdom or the European Union; the remainder
hail from countries across the globe. With over 80 nationalities represented, Buckingham
students form friendships and build up contacts which span the world.

Teaching Quality

Buckingham offers high quality, traditional Oxbridge-style teaching and offers degrees
that are recognized around the world.

The standard of degrees and awards is safeguarded by distinguished external examiners
– senior academic staff from other universities in the UK - who approve and moderate
assessed work.

Although the University is independent, it voluntarily undergoes inspection by the
QAA – the body that monitors standards in all UK universities.

Academic staff teach for three terms out of four, with the remaining term used for
research purposes. Because of this, there is no difficulty attracting high calibre,
highly respected academics, many of whom have a background in business or industry
and can offer networking opportunities for students.

The University came 21st in The Times 2012 Good University Guide; this put Buckingham
ahead of many Russell Group universities and showed the world that it scored highest
in the country on three indicators – student satisfaction, graduate prospects and
staff-student ratio.

Because of Buckingham’s small size, in many instances its departments are not large
enough to receive an individual ranking in the national newspaper league tables.

The Complete University Guide reported that the University of Buckingham has the
best staff to student ratio in the UK (published in April 2011).

Research Quality

Buckingham researchers are pushing out frontiers. Specialist postgraduate courses
allow students to complete their Masters in their third year.

As a university that is independent and receives no funding from the state, Buckingham
is unable to take part in the Hefce-funded Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). The
University hopes that this will change in the future, allowing it to achieve a research
ranking.

The University of Buckingham is not only home to some of the most well-known research-active
academics in their fields, but also to dozens of keen research students reading
for postgraduate degrees in their specialist areas.

From molecular and genetic research into diabetes, to the psychological importance
of music and the effects of government proposals on state and independent education,
research underpins the lives of many of the academics at the University. The University
has specialist research groups set up in various fields, as well as independent
research published by solo academics following their own interests.

International

Each student mixes with over 80 other nationalities and so being at Buckingham is
just like being in a mini global village. These contacts, acquaintances and friendships
carry on long after life at Buckingham is over.

Buckingham graduates find jobs all over the world, and the friendships that they
make go a long way to broadening their experience and give them links that, possibly,
no other university can do at such an intense level.

The University of Buckingham has a number of collaborative partnerships and links
with other educational institutions around the world. These include: European School
of Economics, Institute for Numerical Computation & Analysis (INCA), Sarajevo School
of Science and Technology (SSST), Victoria University, Kampala (Uganda) and the
Marketing Institute of Singapore Training Centre.

The UK Borders Agency (UKBA) has rules about the level of English needed before
issuing a visa to study in the UK. It is also very important that an international
student’s English level is of a good standard to be successful in their studies.
A copy of a student’s English language qualification certificate should be included
with their application.

The International Foundation Programme is available to students whose qualifications
fall slightly below the University’s academic entry requirements and the EAP (English
for Academic Purposes) course can help to improve a student’s English level prior
to starting an undergraduate degree.

Student Satisfaction

Buckingham students are amongst the most satisfied in the United Kingdom. The University
came top in the National Student Survey (NSS) in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and
2011.

Buckingham has always put the student first, believing that students’ priorities
are to be taught well and to get a good job at the end of their degree.

In 2011, Buckingham came out at the top again – for the sixth year running – in
the National Student Survey.

This reflects the success of its small group teaching and nurturing approach.

Buckingham Law School was ranked 4th in its category in the National Student Survey
2010.

Employable Graduates

Buckingham graduates get jobs. 100% of students from 2010 were in employment or further
study six months after graduating.

Buckingham has a high graduate employment rate. In July 2011, The Guardian reported
that 100% of the Class of 2010 went on to work or further study. According to The
Guardian, the latest figures show an improvement on the economic situation compared
to 2010 but indicate that the graduate job market has not yet returned to pre-credit
crunch levels so the University is doubly proud that in a period of economic recession,
its students bucked the trend.

Buckingham graduates have gone on to further study at most of the world’s leading
universities, including Harvard, London, Oxford and Cambridge and secured jobs in
senior positions around the world.

Among Buckingham alumni, there is a graduate who became the head of his country’s
civil service, one who became a leading Formula One motor-racing driver while another
secured a position as the Minister of Sabah and one female law graduate became the
first British lawyer to become a French Advocate.

All degree courses combine academic challenge with the training that will stand
students in good stead for future employment. Many of the more vocationally-focused
degrees offer the opportunity of work placements and experience in industry.

Areas Of Study

Variety of Courses

Buckingham students can complete their undergraduate degree in two years and complete
their Masters in the third year, or be out in the workforce ahead of their peers
from other universities.

Buckingham comprises of four Academic Schools: Law, Business, Humanities (incorporating
Social Science and Education), and Science and Medicine, each led by its own Dean.
The Schools have a large degree of autonomy. They are all on a human scale, with
small class sizes offering a degree of integration between staff and students that
sets Buckingham apart.

School of Business: Buckingham offers a range of full-time undergraduate courses,
with flexible entry points in September and January.

The accelerated 2-year honours degrees are equivalent to a 3-year honours degree
elsewhere. Students may decide to build upon the successes of their undergraduate
degree by taking on a Master’s in a specialist area and complete both levels of
study in just 3 years.

School of Humanities: The student to staff ratio (8:1) puts Humanities in the top
5 faculties in the country.

The School of Humanities has the largest number of students of all the schools at
Buckingham, and spreads across the widest range of subjects; from Economics to Literature,
Military History and Decorative Arts. Students studying an Arts or Economics degree
will have one-to-one tuition.

School of Law: Small group tutorials allow students to learn the law with the maximum
academic support possible. Teachers will know their students personally and ensure
that they will achieve the very best degree they can, by giving continuous support
throughout the year.

The School of Law also offers completion of a 3-year qualifying degree in just 2
years ; has a 100% rate of graduate employment or further study (The Sunday Times
University Guide 2010); flexible entry points in September; full recognition by
the Bar Standards Board, Bar Council and Law Society and support from personal tutors
throughout the degree, with tutorial groups comprised of five students.

School of Sciences and Medicine: Students will interact with nationally and internationally
acclaimed academics and dedicated teachers within a tutorial teaching system. Courses
are designed to be leading-edge and to prepare students for postgraduate employment
in today’s rapidly changing world. The School of Science and Medicine consists of
the School of Medicine and the Departments of Applied Computing, Psychology and
Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolic Disease.

Buckingham was the first UK university to condense the academic content of a standard
3-year degree into a 2-year programme, running over four terms per year. By offering
36 teaching weeks per year, the University can fit in the same amount of teaching
in two years as other universities spread across three.

Students can complete their degree and earn a year’s salary in the time it would
take them to study for the same undergraduate degree at a state-subsidised university.
Students have the option to follow their undergraduate degree with a Masters degree
and be better qualified at the end of the three years than other graduates.

The International Foundation Programme prepares international students for undergraduate
programmes at the University of Buckingham. It provides a bridge between study in
their home country and undergraduate study at a UK university

On successful completion of the programme, students can progress onto a 9-term undergraduate
programme in the Schools of Business, Sciences or Humanities. This will mean that
for many students their foundation and degree programme can be completed in three
calendar years.

Campus Facilities

Location

Buckingham is a picturesque English market town. It lies between Milton Keynes to
the east and Oxford to the west (there is a regular bus service to both) and is
about an hour’s journey from London, so a wide choice of shopping malls, cinemas,
theatres and clubs is not far away.

Buckingham boasts a range of traditional as well as more specialist shops. There
is a variety of hotels, restaurants and public houses, as well as the Swan Leisure
Centre, which offers a large indoor swimming pool, gym and fitness centre.

Stowe House, which lies in one of the finest landscape gardens in Europe, is close
by, as is Silverstone Circuit, the home of British Motor Racing and the British
Grand Prix.

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